How to Play What Is My Parent Thinking (a Game for Parents and Middle School and High School Students)

Setting Up

Select 4 to 5 parent – teen/pre-teen teams.

Photograph the teams. This will be useful during reflections and when creating an album about the activity.

Direct each parent to securely blindfold their teen/pre-teen. Line bandanas with foil so blindfolded contestants will not be able to see through the bandana. Be sure bandana/blindfold fits tightly under eyes and around nose so that contestants can’t look under the bottom of the blindfold.

Provide each parent with a white board and marker.

Gather words from the parents. Direct each parent to write four positive one word descriptions on the white board. These should include: The word the parent would use to describe their teen/pre-teen. The word the teen/pre-teen would want parent to use to describe the teen/pre-teen. The word the teen/pre-teen would use to describe parent. The word the parent would want teen/pre-teen to use to describe parent.

Direct each parent to hand their board to their securely blindfolded teen/pre-teen.

Photograph the teams. The teen/pre-teen should be holding their board in front of them with their parent right behind them.

Gathering Teen Responses

Gather responses from the teens/pre-teens about the first word. Remind them it's the word their parent would use to describe them. Ask each teen/pre-teen the word their parent wrote on the board. Keep score: 2 points for an exact match and 1 point for a synonym. Record the actual responses from each teen/pre-teen on the scoreboard.

Gather responses from the teens/pre-teens about the second word. Remind them it is the word they would want their parent to use to describe them. Ask each teen/pre-teen the word their parent wrote on the board. Keep score: 2 points for an exact match and 1 point for a synonym. Record the actual responses from each teen/pre-teen on the scoreboard.

Repeat the previous two steps for the third and fourth words.

Review the scores. Chances are, very few people will score more than 1 or 2 points. Some may not score at all.

Provide feedback. There are a number of options here depending upon your objectives and the desires of the contestants and parents: Provide the teen/pre-teen with verbal feedback after each response. Provide the teen/pre-teen with verbal feedback after the entire game is complete. Parent spins the blindfolded teen/pre-teen when they mismatch. (The number of spins depends upon the quality of the match, as determined by the parent)

Wrapping Up and Reflecting

End with an optional physical challenge, if desired. In this activity, the parent spins their blindfolded teen/pre-teens as follows (do one teen/pre-teen at the time): Teen/pre-teen with most points -- 2 spins (1 in each direction). Teen/pre-teen with 2nd most points -- 3 spins (1.5 in each direction). Teen/pre-teen with 3rd most points -- 4 spins (2 in each direction). Teen/pre-teen with 4th most points -- 5 spins (2.5 in each direction). Teen/pre-teen with 5th most points -- 6 spins (3 in each direction). Immediately after their spins each teen/pre-teen needs to walk in a straight line while being closely supervised by parent. The audience votes for teen/pre-teen with who walks in the straightest line, and the winner of the voting wins a small prize.

Photograph the scoreboard for inclusion in the album.

Reflect and discuss. Enjoy the experience, but perhaps more importantly, encourage parents to use the opportunity to open dialog with their teens and pre-teens.

Prepare an album about the event. It can contain the photos from the program, as well as the responses from the teens/pre-teens for each participant.